Oh. My. God. (Got my HD 650s)
Dec 16, 2010 at 2:00 AM Post #46 of 182


Quote:

 
Wow, there sure is a lot of unsolicited advice being dispensed here.
 
OP, enjoy your HD650s.  I love the sound of my HD600s.  Some disparagingly call them mid-fi, and that's just fine.  They can coat whatever equipment they want in platinum and enjoy the sound 0.5% more, or maybe (in many cases on this forum) just have the satisfaction of having spent a lot more money on it.  If you want to upgrade, there are options.  If you're happy, be happy.  It's all good.

 
Great post. It's a shame the Head-Fi elitists feel the need to pounce on the joy people feel at hearing what to them may be audio bliss. The hyperbole polluting this forum and the absolutes handed out as "advice" makes me question the underlying agenda.
 
I received my HD650 yesterday. As I wrote in the appreciation thread, by the time 'Sweet Virginia' had faded out midway through Exile on Main St. I knew I'd made the right choice. I discovered a great synergy between the HD650 and.... shock, horror... Audio-GD Fun, a sub $400 dac/amp. It was obvious I'd gone the next tier, with the natural warmth and texture, the layering that I'd not heard in my limited experience and the dynamics in abundance I was now hearing with this setup. My findings are contrary to the popular Head-Fi myths of a "veil", and of a slow and boring presentation. Everything I've thrown at it has been engaging. To my ears, there are no glaring flaws and the music just shines through. Analysis of the headphone's sound signature subconsciously gives way to the music. As it should be.
 
Dec 16, 2010 at 2:09 AM Post #47 of 182
The people buying the ridiculously expensive gear feel the need to justify how much money they spend and that's fine.  I highly doubt supposed "Hi FI" cans have better resolution than my $74 modded T50rp's.  Damped to my taste I don't see myself spending money for hifi anytime soon.  Now that I have them with balanced bass and mids with a slight treble roll off they are just amazing.  
 
Dec 16, 2010 at 3:15 AM Post #48 of 182


Quote:
I don't like the HD650's at all, they lack bass definition, prat and they sound closed-in compared to the best. I consider them a good gateway phone for beginners used to low end bass boosted junk. :) Their saving grace is the tonal balance for people that love bass and hate treble. 
 
Now, get a meier concerto or a lehmann black cube linear and learn how the HD650 should sound. :)
 



Sorry, I missed the point here. The 650s are no good but if we get the right amp we'll find out how they should sound? If they're no good how can they sound any good with any amp--or am I misreading this?
 
Dec 16, 2010 at 3:33 AM Post #49 of 182
I think the point is...if you buy a $1200 amp for your 650's...it doesn't matter how they sound because you'll be too busy thumbing your nose at the poor peons that only have amps that cost a couple hundred bucks.
 
Dec 16, 2010 at 4:37 AM Post #50 of 182


Quote:
you need a better amp now :wink:



Yes, a tube amp!  Then try the higher-end Grados!  Then....
 
Should I just do like that other guy and save up for an Edition 10 and be done with it?
 
But I wouldn't be done!  I'd want to know what the other company's sounds were like.
 
Also - Are LCD-2 that much better than HE-6?
 
 
Dec 16, 2010 at 4:50 AM Post #51 of 182


Quote:

 
Wow, there sure is a lot of unsolicited advice being dispensed here.
 
OP, enjoy your HD650s.  I love the sound of my HD600s.  Some disparagingly call them mid-fi, and that's just fine.  They can coat whatever equipment they want in platinum and enjoy the sound 0.5% more, or maybe (in many cases on this forum) just have the satisfaction of having spent a lot more money on it.  If you want to upgrade, there are options.  If you're happy, be happy.  It's all good.


I don't mind anyone telling me that it's mid-fi.  I was telling my friend that they should take all non-portable headphones BELOW the quality of the HD 650 and just burn them.  The HD 650 is where audio reproduction should START.  
 
People have hinted that there there was a revelatory moment in their headphone hobby - and I think the HD 650s are mine.  Sure, the Grados were a step up from the really bad cans - but I wasn't expecting the hyper-leap forward between them and the HD 650.
 
Edited to add:  I once used to wonder how people could pay $200 for a meal.  Then my ex-girlfriend treated me to a meal at a middle-end restaurant in San Fran - it was a 'homestyle' type of weird 'gay restaurant' where her friend worked (had never heard of restaurants based on sexual orientation, but whatever).  I had a chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy type dish - it was just as revelatory!  I no longer wondered how anyone could pay that much for a meal!
 
Dec 16, 2010 at 9:09 AM Post #52 of 182
I like how people automatically assume he needs to upgrade from the E9 as an amp. As a solid state/transparent amp, it's been mentioned to compete and/or outright beat $600+ SS amps. If he's looking for coloration, then yes tube amps would be the next logical step in amps. As far as SS amps go, spending money on anything other than some SERIOUSLY expensive amps wouldn't benefit his HD650s much if any.
 
Love how people are stuck on the 'OMG Fiio only does cheap $20 amps, they shouldn't be taken seriously" kick.
 
 
I seriously want to try the HD650 one of these days. I wouldn't buy them, but I want to badly try them out.
 
Dec 16, 2010 at 9:40 AM Post #53 of 182


Quote:
I like how people automatically assume he needs to upgrade from the E9 as an amp. As a solid state/transparent amp, it's been mentioned to compete and/or outright beat $600+ SS amps. If he's looking for coloration, then yes tube amps would be the next logical step in amps. As far as SS amps go, spending money on anything other than some SERIOUSLY expensive amps wouldn't benefit his HD650s much if any.
 
Love how people are stuck on the 'OMG Fiio only does cheap $20 amps, they shouldn't be taken seriously" kick.
 
 
I seriously want to try the HD650 one of these days. I wouldn't buy them, but I want to badly try them out.


Why wouldn't you buy them?
 
Dec 16, 2010 at 9:47 AM Post #54 of 182
Because I already have a pair of open cans I'm very happy with. That, and I'm not a fan of a warm/smooth signature. Contradictory considering my incoming ESW9 is just that, but they will be EQ-ed to my liking, and won't be used with my non-EQ'ed home setup.
 
Still, it's not that I don't LIKE warm/smooth headphones. I just know I prefer bright/aggressive.
 
Dec 16, 2010 at 9:51 AM Post #55 of 182
Famous last words just before the credit card comes out of the wallet...lol...I want to try these things too. My only problem is that I also don't want to buy them because I don't want to spend the $300+. But I know if I try them and they live up to their reputation...I'll be starting a 'So I just got a pair of HD650's" thread of my own...lol
 
Quote:
 
 
I seriously want to try the HD650 one of these days. I wouldn't buy them, but I want to badly try them out.



 
Dec 16, 2010 at 10:07 AM Post #56 of 182


Quote:
Because I already have a pair of open cans I'm very happy with. That, and I'm not a fan of a warm/smooth signature. Contradictory considering my incoming ESW9 is just that, but they will be EQ-ed to my liking, and won't be used with my non-EQ'ed home setup.
 
Still, it's not that I don't LIKE warm/smooth headphones. I just know I prefer bright/aggressive.



They ain't that laid back, it's just that they don't quite ear-sex you in the mids the way even my (low-end) Grados do - but they're more lush, complete, and the detail is amazing.
 
Also, I'm actually enjoying well produced rap now.  How did I not notice how clever some of this can be?  Maybe it's because I hear it pouring out of rattle-can, death-by-bass drive-by cars.
 
I feel like I wasn't even really listening to music before.  I was listening to crayola portrayals of music.
 
Dec 16, 2010 at 10:36 AM Post #57 of 182


Quote:
Yes, a tube amp!  Then try the higher-end Grados!  Then....
 
Should I just do like that other guy and save up for an Edition 10 and be done with it?
 
But I wouldn't be done!  I'd want to know what the other company's sounds were like.
 
Also - Are LCD-2 that much better than HE-6?
 

 
The nice thing with headphones is that they don't take up much space. So you can have many different pairs and listen to which ever one fits your mood or music. To date, I've only really regretted two headphone purchases. One was a Sennheiser of some sort from about 15 years ago. They were $100, over the ear kind, and just horrible. I think I still have them somewhere. I didn't really know what I was doing and should have never bought those. The second is Ultrasone Pro 650s that I bought a few months back. They were a great deal, I was lured in by the low price, but they are just not that great and I wish that I had not spent the money on them.  Other than these two, I get something out of each pair of headphones I have. Even though the HD650s are not my favorite, I think they are good Hi-Fi headphones.
 
For headphones that cost $1000, I would definitely have to audition them before I buy. I don't have any direct experience with LCD-2 and HE6, but based on what I've read, they are comparable in their level of performance, it just comes down to personal preference.
 
Jack
 
Dec 16, 2010 at 10:40 AM Post #58 of 182
Quote:
Quote:

 
Wow, there sure is a lot of unsolicited advice being dispensed here.
 
OP, enjoy your HD650s.  I love the sound of my HD600s.  Some disparagingly call them mid-fi, and that's just fine.  They can coat whatever equipment they want in platinum and enjoy the sound 0.5% more, or maybe (in many cases on this forum) just have the satisfaction of having spent a lot more money on it.  If you want to upgrade, there are options.  If you're happy, be happy.  It's all good.

People have hinted that there there was a revelatory moment in their headphone hobby - and I think the HD 650s are mine.  Sure, the Grados were a step up from the really bad cans - but I wasn't expecting the hyper-leap forward between them and the HD 650.
 
Edited to add:  I once used to wonder how people could pay $200 for a meal.  Then my ex-girlfriend treated me to a meal at a middle-end restaurant in San Fran - it was a 'homestyle' type of weird 'gay restaurant' where her friend worked (had never heard of restaurants based on sexual orientation, but whatever).  I had a chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy type dish - it was just as revelatory!  I no longer wondered how anyone could pay that much for a meal!

This pretty much nails my experience on the head. I've had a total of three such instances in which this eureka moment has occurred. My first revelation was the pair of HD280s my parents got me for Christmas. The music just sounded so incredibly smooth with no bloated bass or extremely exaggerated treble. I didn't realize music could sound like that. $100 was a heck of a lot of money for a college student so I was happy with these as my only can.
 
Well, at least until I started reading on here and decided to try other cans which was eventually led to the AD2000, D2000, K701, T50RP, HD650, RS1, and many others. Each of these cans was a different revelation in sound. One had better bass definition (I didn't even know this was possible), the D2000s had incredibly flat bass, the SA5000s and T50RPs raw speed, the vocals of the AD2000, the soundstage of the K701, the tonal balance, the mids, and the treble everything was better on one or the other. However, I was perfectly fine stopping with one of these cans and calling it quits.
 
Then I went to a meet just to see if it could get any better. I had the misfortune of listening to almost every high end can. It was breath taking everything sounded so good, so right, so clear, it was scary. My setup didn't really hold a candle to these things. I remember the trip back I couldn't play the Bose stereo in my dad's car because it sounded so terrible (that's never happened before). That's why I upgraded to the LCD-2 even though as a college kid I don't have the money and I have to pay my own way through school. It's worth it to me as all of the traits I desired from other cans are present here but I can certainly see how the improvement wouldn't be for most people. I'm still struggling with the cost of these things and don't know if they'll be keeping due solely to their pricetag.
 
I really don't understand why everyone is going off the deep-end when a couple of people have made faux suggestions about an "upgrade path". I honestly don't think too many people are serious about it as it's in the nature of HF. Also I don't think anyone is being pretentious with their audio gear, I know I'm not.
 
@OP: Sorry for the long post. I hope it was worth the read instead of a snide and dismissive TLDR. I for one feel that if you are enjoying your current system do so for as long as possible before upgrading it or don't upgrade at all. It's honestly not a bad final setup to have.
 
Dec 16, 2010 at 10:47 AM Post #59 of 182
the only other headphone i really want is the Fostex T50RP, just to play around with.
 
Dec 16, 2010 at 10:54 AM Post #60 of 182
I think your post was good. I just think that when the OP posts up about how great he thinks his new headphones are and is excited and blah blah blah...for someone to chime in just to remind him that his new purchase was only "mid-fi", that is pretentious and IMO down right ignorant. And then for someone else to say his headphones sucked but to go ahead and purchase a $1200 amp to use on his sucky headphone...well...that chaps my arse too. Maybe I am reading into this stuff too much, perhaps since it really doesn't pertain to me I shouldn't even be concerned, but for some reason...I think it is from my 10 years in law enforcement...I just have a super low, read ZERO, tolerance for ignorant people. But it is the internet and you'll have that no matter the subject and there really isn't anything that can be done about it. Guess I just need to grow some thicker skin or at least learn to keep my mouth shut. And I realize it is all about labels and none of that really matters in the big picture...I am just in one of those moods lately where things tend to irritate me a little easier I guess.
 
Sorry for getting so OT.
 
Quote:
Also I don't think anyone is being pretentious with their audio gear, I know I'm not.
 

 

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